World mining equipment market current

Global demand for specialized mining machinery and ore milling equipment is projected to increase over five percent per year through 2011 to more than $30 billion. Advances will be fueled by continued demand for metals such as iron ore and copper. Also, the ongoing global thirst for energy will boost coal output.
Prices for mineable commodities have shown growth in recent years. This has led to intensified efforts to mine metal ores, and thus has generated strong demand for products like mining machinery. Meanwhile, coal, facing dwindling reserves in numerous countries, remains in demand as an alternative source of energy in an era of high oil and gas prices, while demand for industrial minerals has benefitted from the general upsurge in commodities markets.

Despite their maturity as markets, the largest producers of mining equipment are generally found in the United States and the industrialized nations of Western Europe, as well as Japan. Such countries have a long history and much expertise in the development of capital equipment industries of all types, which many have leveraged in mining machinery. However, China has emerged as a major producer, due in large part to the nation’s growing mining industry. With the largest deposits of mineable resources generally located in developing countries, the major multinationals that dominate world mining equipment production are increasingly moving production capacity to these areas, a trend that is expected to continue.